Using the normal distribution, it is found that approximately 33 students had 21 or fewer friends, given by option D.
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In a normal distribution with mean [tex]\mu[/tex] and standard deviation [tex]\sigma[/tex], the z-score of a measure X is given by:
[tex]Z = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma}[/tex]
In this problem:
[tex]Z = \frac{X - \mu}{\sigma}[/tex]
[tex]Z = \frac{21 - 45}{16}[/tex]
[tex]Z = -1.5[/tex]
[tex]Z = -1.5[/tex] has a p-value of 0.0668.
Out of 500 students:
[tex]0.0668(500) = 33[/tex]
Approximately 33 students, option D.
A similar problem is given at https://brainly.com/question/13383035